This invention relates to an improvement for low power electronic microcomputer odometer/speedometers for bicycles which allows the devices to display route directions.
State of the art odometer/speedometer devices for bicycles are wrist watch size devices with wire connections to small sending units which sense revolutions of a wheel. The device includes an electronic clock for calculating speed. The history of development of these odometer/speedometer devices for bicycles is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,190. U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,448 describes some of the more recently invented features of such devices.
According to contemporary bicycle industry magazines, these devices are now referred to as "cyclocomputers". Data that can be displayed on various cyclocomputers includes: current speed, maximum speed, average speed, total distance, trip distance, total time, trip time, clock time, stop watch functions, and countdown timer. With additional internal electronics, some cyclocomputers can also display altitude, rate of climb or descent, and temperature. With additional sensors located at the crank or on the rider, some cyclocomputers can display pedaling cadence, whether cadence is above or below a set point, heart rate, whether heart rate is above or below a set point, and total time that heart rate is within target zones. Various cyclocomputers feature audio beeps or synthesized voice cues to report some of this information to the rider. Various cyclocomputers can record any of the above data and replay the recorded data on the instrument face. At least one of them can also export this data to a computer for further analysis or display. The odometer function of each cyclocomputer requires calibration to the wheel size of the bicycle. This is accomplished by pressing buttons on the cyclocomputer, and either riding the bicycle over a measured distance or inputting the wheel size.
Many cyclists tour for pleasure and enjoy discovering new routes that they have not previously ridden. Cycling clubs and cycling magazines frequently publish route descriptions, either in map form or a sequence of written instructions, for others to follow. The cyclist typically carries the instructions in paper form in a pocket and occasionally stops to consult the instructions, an inconvenient process.